Postdoctoral Fellowship (22) at University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) invites applications for a Research Associate interested in understanding environmental issues related to catastrophic risk, particularly analysing their global effects and designing interventions to improve planetary health. This role would suit someone with a PhD in a technical field, who is developing their research agenda and interested in exploring the connection between their specialism and extreme global risks.

CSER is part of the Institute for Technology and Humanity (ITH), which supports world-leading research and teaching that investigates and shapes technological transformations and the opportunities and challenges they pose for our societies, our environment and our world. The highly interdisciplinary team works on topics ranging from pandemics to climate change, engaging with policymakers at the national and international level.

We are looking for a Research Associate to work in the Cambridge Graphene Centre on Raman Spectroscopy of Graphene and Related Materials, within the Graphene and Quantum Flagships

The aim is to perform Raman spectroscopy investigations of samples ranging from amorphous carbon to graphene and layered materials and hybrid systems, including plasmonic systems, working down to ultra-low and high frequencies, with multiple laser lines from IR to UV, with low and high temperature and magnetic field. The role holder will be expected to provide a full data analysis and interpretation, using a variety of analytical and computational tools, including group theory and density functional theory.

The aim is to develop a new class of integrated Silicon photonic and optoelectronic devices exploiting graphene and related materials (GRMs), combining the versatile properties of GRMs with conventional three-dimensional semiconductors. Such devices will then be used in a wide range of applications such as on-chip optical routing, light emission, optical sensing and quantum communications. This is an ambitious research program, with a strong interdisciplinary nature, across photonics, plasmonics, device physics, electrical engineering and nanotechnology, and it will require the realization of novel devices for wide range of applications such as photodetectors, optical modulators, optical amplifiers, lasers, biosensors etc. based on integrated GRMs

The successful candidate will hold a PhD in Applied Physics, Material Science, Nanotechnology or Electrical Engineering with a proven track record in photonics, optoelectronics in graphene and related materials, physics of low dimensional systems, plasmonics, near-field optics, CMOS technology and nanofabrication including, e-beam lithography and laser writing, on-chip optical and electrical characterizations, pump-probe and fast electro-optical measurements.

IMS Epidemiology is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate or Assistant Research Professor in qualitative public health intervention research.

This position is based in the Population Health Interventions group, an interdisciplinary team combining epidemiological, public health and social science approaches to understanding how changes in fiscal, physical and social environments can improve diet, physical activity and population health. The postholder will be the lead qualitative researcher across two closely related research programmes, designing and conducting ethnographic and meta-ethnographic research to generate deeper insight into the mechanisms linking environmental change with behavioural and health outcomes. This is an opportunity to make a substantial scientific contribution within a highly collaborative research environment and to help shape an ambitious programme of public health intervention research.

IMS Epidemiology is a Division within the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, situated within the Institute of Metabolic Science on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Its mission is to inform, develop and evaluate approaches to promote health and wellbeing through the joint strategies of precision prevention and population health improvement. The Division benefits from a number of large-scale, cross programme epidemiological studies with detailed datasets allowing a wide range of research from genetics to public health. Highly experienced information teams and other specialist teams support the scientists in the delivery of their research aims.

The successful candidate will have, or be close to completing, a PhD in public health or a related social science discipline, together with strong qualitative research skills relevant to the evaluation and understanding of population health interventions. They will have proven experience in qualitative fieldwork and analysis, including ethnographic or meta-ethnographic methods, and a strong interest in public health research questions relating to diet and, particularly, to physical activity or travel behaviour. We are looking for someone who can work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team, communicate complex ideas clearly to academic and non-academic audiences, and manage their work effectively to deliver high-quality research to agreed deadlines.

We are seeking a highly motivated Research Associate to join an exciting programme of research investigating the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underpin language generation. This project combines intracranial electrophysiology (iEEG) with cutting-edge computational modelling using Large Language Models (LLMs) to explore how people produce language in natural, real-world conversations. Working closely with Dr Ariel Goldstein, the successful candidate will contribute to pioneering research at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience, psychology and artificial intelligence.

The Research Associate will play a key role in advancing our understanding of how the brain generates and communicates meaningful language. They will design and conduct experiments, analyse neural and behavioural datasets, and develop computational models of language production using LLMs. The postholder will help translate empirical findings into testable theories of language generation, contributing to an ambitious research agenda that integrates experimental and computational approaches to human cognition.

As part of the role, the successful candidate will contribute to the dissemination of research through high-quality publications, conference presentations, and engagement with the wider scientific community. They will also support the preparation of reports and funding applications, while helping to foster a collaborative and intellectually stimulating research environment. This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious researcher to contribute to internationally significant work addressing fundamental questions about language, cognition and the human brain.

A unique and exciting opportunity exists for a Research Assistant/Associate in the Department of Engineering to work on the ERC URÅNIA: Unique Research Asset for Nuclear Innovative Applications.

The main aim of this post is to reveal the precursors acting across the previously unseen incubation stage of Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) initiation by using advanced microscopy and a breakthrough methodology and contribute to the effective demonstration of the URÅNIA scope in strong synergy with all partners under the guidance of the PI.

The post holder will be located in Central Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK. This is a full-time post but we are open to consider part time requests.

Applications are invited for an enthusiastic and motivated Research Associate to join the Laboratory of David Owen and Bernard Kelly at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research. Our work combines cell biology, structural biology and biochemistry/biophysics to build a deep, integrated understanding of intracellular trafficking mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on cargo sorting in the endocytic system. The successful candidate will study the cell biology of receptor trafficking between the plasma membrane and endosomes.

All applicants must hold at minimum a PhD in cell biology/biochemistry and have prior extensive experience with (a) confocal, epifluorescence and live-cell microscopy to study transmembrane protein trafficking in cultured cells (with associated use of statistical analysis), (b) cell line engineering (creating stable cell lines by viral transduction) and carrying out RNA depletion (siRNA/shRNA) and (c) immunoprecipitation, western blotting, FACS, and protein biochemistry techniques. In-depth knowledge of endosomal function and morphology and/or experience with cellular immunoelectron microscopy and/or super-resolution microscopy would be greatly advantageous.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on a GSK-funded, cross-disciplinary project led by Professor Clare Bryant to develop advanced human respiratory epithelial models for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The successful candidate will join the Cambridge- GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration (GC-TIC), a new translational initiative between Cambridge and GSK focused on renal and respiratory diseases of high unmet medical need. CG-TIC aims to deliver impact to patients while advancing the GSK pipeline and supporting research in Cambridge.

This role will contribute to our ongoing research on mechanisms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD remains an incurable, progressive respiratory disease characterized by persistent airflow limitation and chronic airway inflammation. Historically, the development of effective therapeutics has been constrained by a lack of biomimetic, multi-cellular human models.

To address this challenge, you will join a highly collaborative, transdisciplinary team in the lab of Prof. Clare Bryant, comprising biological, medical, and physical scientists dedicated to advancing our customized organ-on-a-chip platforms. Based in the VPD-Heart and Lung Research Institute, located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the ideal candidate will have experience of air-liquid interface culture of primary airway epithelial cell culture models as well as advanced molecular biology skills (CRISP/Cas9 gene editing).

We are seeking an experienced and motivated researcher to work on a Cambridge-GSK Translational Immunology Collaboration (CG-TIC) project. CG-TIC is a new translational initiative between Cambridge and GSK focused on renal and respiratory diseases. It will leverage the world-class capabilities of Cambridge and GSK, targeting diseases of high unmet medical need, with the aim of delivering impact to patients while advancing the GSK pipeline, and supporting research in Cambridge.

The successful applicant will be part of the Respiratory Mechanisms of Disease theme and will join the research group of Professor James Nathan, based in the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID) on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, in collaboration with Professor Michal Minczuk at the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit. You will also be part of the CG-TIC and will join a growing team of researchers supporting this collaboration. The work will investigate how mitochondrial dysfunction and mtDNA damage drive innate immune activation and contribute to chronic inflammation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), using a primary human airway air¿liquid interface (ALI) platform. A central aim is to define how mitochondrial metabolic dysfunction shapes innate immune responses, and to identify the molecular mechanisms by which damaged mtDNA is sensed by the innate immune system. This programme is a close collaboration between the Nathan Laboratory and the Minczuk Group, combining expertise in mitochondrial metabolism and innate immunity with state-of-the-art mitochondrial genome engineering tools, and is conducted in partnership with GSK.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in mitochondrial biology, cell metabolism, or innate immunology, with hands-on experience of primary human cell culture and quantitative molecular biology. Experience with approaches to assess mitochondrial function, mtDNA biology, or innate immune signalling pathways is highly desirable, as is familiarity with genomics or sequencing-based methods. A collaborative outlook and the ability to work effectively across a large academic¿industry partnership, including with the Minczuk Group, GSK, and other CG-TIC researchers, will be essential to success in this role.

Applications are invited for a Research Assistant or Assistant/Associate role in the lab of Dr. Heather Machado, jointly in the Departments of Pathology and Genetics, University of Cambridge. Appointment will be made on the basis of successful candidate’s experience and education.

The Machado Lab studies how tumour and immune cells co-evolve during cancer progression. We combine approaches from evolutionary genetics with single-cell genomic, transcriptomic and multiomic datasets to address fundamental questions in cancer immunology, including when anti-tumour immune responses arise, how inflammation reshapes those responses, and how immune cells evolve during immunotherapy.

We are seeking a computational biologist or genomicist to analyse single-cell genomic and transcriptomic datasets to investigate the somatic evolution of T cell responses to cancer. The successful applicant will have experience analysing genomic and/or multiomic data, along with excellent written and oral communication skills, strong organisational skills, and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment.

The Medical Research Council Mitochondrial Biology Unit (MRC MBU), University of Cambridge wishes to appoint a post-doctoral Research Associate to join the research group of Prof. Michal Minczuk at the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit.

A world-renowned centre for research, the MRC MBU is a vibrant community focused on the involvement of mitochondria and their dysfunction in an ever-increasing range of human diseases. Additional information can be found at www.mrc-mbu.cam.ac.uk.

The postholder will contribute to an ambitious programme funded through the ARIA Precision Mitochondria initiative, aimed at developing novel technologies for the delivery of genetic material into mitochondria. The project addresses one of the major challenges in mitochondrial medicine: enabling precise genetic manipulation of the mitochondrial genome in living cells and tissues.

Working at the interface of mitochondrial biology, membrane biophysics and synthetic biology, the successful candidate will establish and apply advanced experimental approaches to evaluate mitochondrial membrane integrity, topology, dynamics and function following delivery interventions. They will employ complementary methodologies including super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, mitochondrial bioenergetics, single-cell mtDNA/mtRNA analysis, molecular biology and functional assays of oxidative phosphorylation.

Dr. Meng Zhu’s research group at the Gurdon Institute and the Department of Genetics is seeking a motivated individual to join the lab as a Postdoctoral scientist.

Our lab studies how developmental timing and cellular plasticity are regulated during embryogenesis. We are particularly interested in how embryos integrate environmental cues, such as oxygen availability with genetic programmes to shape development. To address this, we work across systems, from mammalian embryos to jellyfish, combining experimental embryology with genomics and quantitative approaches.

The successful candidate will undertake independent research projects on the line of the interplay between oxygen signalling and developmental timing in mammalian embryos, and/or developmental plasticity and reversal in jellyfish.

In addition to the unique opportunity of gaining research experience across multiple model systems on developmental biology, regeneration, stem cells and metabolism fields, the candidate will have access to training courses and professional development programmes offered by the University of Cambridge, as well as strong mentorship and career development support, including fellowship preparation.

We are seeking an enthusiastic, dynamic, and ambitious postdoctoral Research Associate to join the group of Dr Nicholas Gleadall within the University of Cambridge Department of Haematology, based at the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The postholder will work as part of the BloodCounts! consortium, an international collaboration applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to complete blood count (CBC) data for the detection of disease. The consortium brings together clinical and academic partners across the UK, Europe, Singapore, and United States, and has significant funding from the Gates Foundation and other major funders.

The postholder will lead computational analyses to evaluate machine learning methodologies developed by the Higgins group at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), using ethnically diverse CBC data assembled by the BloodCounts! consortium from Cambridge University Hospitals, Barts Health NHS Trust, University College London Hospitals, and Amsterdam UMC¿totalling approximately 9.6 million CBC records. The overarching aim is to evaluate whether patient-specific CBC baselines, which have been shown to provide superior diagnostic accuracy compared to population reference intervals, generalise across diverse populations and alternative CBC testing platforms. A key focus will be the application of these approaches to anaemia classification and subtyping in pregnancy.

We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position in the group of Prof. Bartomeu Monserrat at the University of Cambridge. We are looking for a motivated, independent, and talented scientist to join our group.

This is an open call in the general area of condensed matter and materials modelling. The successful candidate will work in one or several of the current areas of interest in the group, which include: -Topological materials -Superconductivity -Strongly correlated materials -Excitons -Machine learning Further details about our areas of interest can be found in our publication list. https://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~bm418/publications.html

Applicants must have (or be about to receive) a PhD in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, or a related subject. The ideal candidate will have experience in code development and/or use of first principles methods (e.g. DFT, GW, BSE, DMFT). Applicants must also have a strong track record of publications in computational condensed matter and materials science, excellent communication skills, the ability to work collaboratively in a team of scientists with different backgrounds, and a willingness to take a leading role in the supervision of junior group members.

The successful candidate will be part of a thriving community of computational materials scientists as part of the Materials Theory Group in the Department of Materials and as part of the Lennard-Jones Centre in the wider University of Cambridge. Similarly, the successful candidate will benefit from multiple collaborations with local and international experimental teams.

(18) Postdoctoral Fellowship Position

Postdoc Fellowship Position summary/title: Research Assistant/Associate in Monte Carlo Radiation Transport and Reactor Analysis (Fixed Term)

Deadline : 29 June 2026

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Applications are invited for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the laboratory of Professor Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience (PDN) at the University of Cambridge.

The Sferruzzi-Perri Laboratory investigates the aetiology of pregnancy complications and the regulation of fetal and placental development within broader physiological and environmental contexts. The group employs integrative approaches, combining environmental mouse models and human pregnancy studies with advanced molecular, cellular, and physiological techniques.

We invite applications for a 4-year Postdoctoral Research Associate position in Molecular Evolution and Functional Genomics, jointly supervised by Dr Gamze Gursoy and Dr Nicola De Maio at the University of Cambridge.

The postholder will be expected to plan and manage their own research and administration, with guidance where required. They will take an active role in both research groups, contribute to the development of graduate student research skills, participate in seminars and workshops, and collaborate with researchers across computational biology, genetics, evolution, genomics, and applied mathematics.

The successful candidate will work on an interdisciplinary project at the interface of molecular evolution, functional genomics, regulatory genomics, phylogenetics, machine learning, and 3D genome biology. The project will use large-scale comparative genomic resources to investigate how gene regulatory elements evolve across the tree of life, with a particular focus on whether evolutionary constraint propagates between physically interacting genomic elements.

Applicants should have completed, or be close to completing, a PhD in molecular evolution, evolutionary genomics, computational biology, functional genomics, bioinformatics, phylogenetics, statistical genetics, statistics, machine learning, or a closely related quantitative field.

The BioNano Engineering Group, led by Prof Ljiljana Fruk, is seeking an outstanding Postdoctoral Research Associate to join an exciting interdisciplinary project focused on the development of photonic polymeric nanoparticles for the restoration of damaged neuronal pathways in blinding eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

The project (NanoFlash) is funded by European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder Open programme and is an international collaboration involving l researchers from Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, and the UK.

With an ageing global population, the burden of vision loss is increasing rapidly, highlighting the urgent need for safe, affordable, and minimally invasive next-generation retinal therapies. NanoFLASH addresses this challenge through the development of soft injectable nanoactuators (actNPs) designed to selectively target rod/cone ON bipolar cells and restore light-driven neuronal activity within the ON/OFF visual processing system.

The project will explore three complementary strategies for the design of actNPs: ¿ Self-assembly of chemically modified polymeric precursors ¿ Core@shell structuring to generate bulk heterojunction nanoparticles that facilitate charge separation ¿ Surface functionalisation to enhance surface charge and selective binding to receptors in damaged retinal cells

The ultimate goal is to develop first-in-class polymeric nanoactuators, which could be scaled up using in-flow synthesis, that are biocompatible with retinal tissue, absorb across the visible spectrum, can bind to damaged receptors, and exhibit the stability required for therapeutic application.

The successful candidate will work within a highly interdisciplinary and international consortium, collaborating closely with computational scientists, physicists, experts in experimental neuro-ophthalmology, and industrial partners. This collaborative environment will support the translation of cutting-edge nanotechnology toward future clinical application.

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate position to work on a NERC-funded project investigating the evolutionary dynamics of virus resistance in wild animal populations. The post will be based in the Pathogen Dynamics Unit within the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge and be co-supervised by Professor Frank Jiggins and Professor Henrik Salje in collaboration with Prof Jon Slate at the University of Sheffield and Dr Joel Alves at the University of Oxford.

The Pathogen Dynamics Unit at the University of Cambridge consists of 15-20 researchers at different stages of their career using experimental, mathematical and computational research to help our understanding of how pathogens spread in populations. This post will work closely with the Slate group, which uses genomics approaches to study the evolution of quantitative traits.

The project will consist of the analysis of data from a population of wild rabbits in Australia that have been followed and sampled regularly for 25 years. During this period there have been regular outbreaks of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV), a highly contagious, often fatal virus. This project will use advanced quantitative genetics and epidemiological modelling to explore the evolution of resistance in the rabbit population and coevolution with the virus. This will include analysing several thousand host genomes from the 25-year period allowing us to investigate the evolution of host immunity from a quantitative genetic perspective. The project promises to provide fundamental insight into our understanding of disease ecology and evolution by exploring the interplay between host immunity and virus across long timeframes.